


if my heart was a house you'd be home

by sanyoushi



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: M/M, these are all unrelated
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-11
Updated: 2017-04-11
Packaged: 2018-10-17 16:08:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10597527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sanyoushi/pseuds/sanyoushi
Summary: a collection of fun drabbles





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> hey what's up who's ready for some drabbles no one asked for. thought i'd post these somewhere

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: suicide (just for this chapter)

leo peered out over the top of his balcony and took in the sight of the kingdom that was now his; bleak and grey. nohr had always been a bit dull, but it seemed like since the day he had fought his traitorous sibling the sun had stopped shining.  
  
to let the kingdom fall to the sword that had  taken everything he had ever loved and cared for was something he had wished to avoid. but the kingdom's glory had been swallowed with the close of the war, and what use is a king who is as broken as his kingdom.   
  
a cloak, tattered and indigo and peppered with dark blots, was clutched tightly to his chest. he'd pleaded with screams and tears rolling down his cheeks to keep it and refused to let anyone take it for cleaning. it was warm, always warm. when he held it up to his cheek he could still feel the calloused, but gentle, hands against his skin. the same hands that would dry his crying eyes and hold his hips at night. that would protect him until their owner drew his final breath.     
  
the frigid air bit at his ears as he climbed the ledge. it would be a long fall.   
_  
_ _i'll see you soon, niles_

 


	2. Chapter 2

growing up in the slums, niles had never been fond of winter. nohr, chilling as it already was at all times of year, had the most terrifying winters. once a year, those gruesome hailstorms and blizzards would claim their share of lives. niles considered himself lucky to have found a band of thieves who, at the very least, provided him with a place to stay. 

his past was a patchwork of incomplete memories, but he could still recall those frostbitten nights he was uncomfortably packed alongside strangers upon strangers in some sort of makeshift living space. but following his first encounter with leo, the season began to change. 

it was those mornings when his lord managed to rise on his own and shake him awake instead of the usual opposite.  _ niles, niles!  _ he'd exclaim with a childish wanderlust in his eyes.  _ the first snow has come! _

it was those lazy afternoons spent traveling down a forgotten path through the freshly fallen snow, his fingers warm between leo's. neither he nor the prince knew exactly where they were going, but they could always count on their trail of footprints to lead them home.

and of course, it was those quiet, candlelit evenings spent bundled up by the fireplace with his prince nestled snugly at his side.  _ how curious _ , he thought, that he'd come to love winter. 

  
  



	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw death

niles found it both clever and saddening that his lord had written his will at such a young age. it dated back to the start of the war. as if he had been _expecting_ to lose his life.  
  
" _promise me,_ " the prince had croaked, stiff in his bed and almost consumed by the foreign illness that had its grip on his throat. "that you'll keep living if i die. that you'll live your life to the fullest."  
  
and with the tears that poured down his cheeks like the rain that fell on the day leo was buried, he vowed to keep his promise.  
  
he never understood why the brynhildr was among the innumerable list of items his lord had left to him. nobles and servants alike shot him disapproving looks once the late prince's will was turned to the public eye. the divine tome in the hands of a former thief.  
  
at night he liked to look at it, if not another one of leo's old belongings. he couldn't read the text, but he'd swear he could feel leo's presence whenever he held it in his arms. it wasn't until many, many moons later that he'd finally part with it.  
  
spring was just around the corner and with all the budding plant life, niles couldn't help but smile thinking about how pleased his liege would be to see it all. it was also his youngest child's birthday, and something about the wispy wind as he had left his daily prayer at leo's memorial felt like a whisper to urge him on.  
  
" _foleo,_ " he called out, catching the attention of the curly haired boy _._ "i've got a gift for you"


	4. Chapter 4

niles let his gaze follow the snap of leo closing his book before placing it on the nightstand. it was a strategy guide of sorts. leo had been studying for the battle that was soon to come.  
  
"niles," he spoke, his voice barely rising above a whisper. he looked troubled, the way he always did when he was thinking about the war. "i fear... death in our next battle. it will be our most dangerous fight yet, and perhaps the one that determines the future of our kingdom. i cannot afford to make any mistakes..."  
  
"milord, you know i would give my life for yours in a heartbeat. you needn't worry--"  
  
"but i could never ask that of you. i... don't know what i would do without you. more than i fear for my life, i fear for yours. it's selfish, i know, but i hope for you to be by my side until my dying day. and for that reason...i do worry." he looked down at his palms and furrowed his brows, letting his back slump against the pillows.  
  
niles never grew used to hearing such words leave his lord's lips. he loved leo more than anything, but never imagined leo could feel the same. he let out a sigh and tiredly kissed the prince's forehead.  
  
"i suppose i could do that. but only if you promise to stay by mine, too. you are the only family, the only love, i have ever known."  
  
and then the prince smiled, a small, sweet smile, and gave his retainer's hand a squeeze.  
  
"of course. i'm yours until the end of time."    
  


 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw death but it's not as sad i promise

the arrow took leo down in an instant. he wasn't paying attention. wasn't looking behind him. it was rash and foolish but he had lunged forward to fend off a samurai that had niles in a pinch.

he hadn't thought to watch his own back.

he fell pathetically to the ground and laid there with his face buried in the mud as troops trampled over him. between his ragged breaths he wondered if he was still alive. if his soul had left his body yet. after some time he'd grown numb to the arrow digging into his body and the feet walking over his back.  
  
or perhaps it was because the soldiers had disappeared. as he weakly rose his head he could only hear their march far off in the distance. _ah_ , he thought, _no one came for me._ he craned his neck to the side with whatever strength he had, prepared to see a desolate, abandoned landscape. he'd been left alone to die. how improper.  
  
it was only when he heard a voice croak _lord leo_ that his half lidded eyes snapped open to locate the source. a familiar indigo cloak caught his gaze before falling to its owner, niles, who was as tight in death's grasp as he was.  
  
niles began to drag his limp body closer to the prince, who could only watch. he was visibly in pain, but he was determined to close their gap. niles managed to pull himself an arm's length away before collapsing again, his breaths deep and heavy.  
  
"i'm afraid i'm going to die, niles."  
  
"it was silly of you to protect me like that," niles shook his head, "when _your_ life is so valuable."  
  
"it’s not any more valuable than yours is. besides i... i don't think i could live without you."  
  
"well, maybe it's a bit selfish of me, but... i'm happy that you'll be the last thing i see."  
  
"promise me we'll meet again.”  
  
"milord?"  
  
"in another life. we'll see each other again."  
  
niles smiled softly and brushed his hand over leo's. _"of course."_  
  
and just as the rain falls, the sun still set and rose again at dawn. life continued its cycle.

* * *

monday afternoons were always the most tiring for leo. the cafe was nowhere close to being busy, but perhaps that added to the dreariness. the blonde had nearly nodded off to sleep where he stood when a boisterous little girl with braided hair came running through the doors. a tall man, presumably her father, followed behind and something about him made leo's heart race.

the windswept white hair, the covered eye, the athletic build. everything about him was so _familiar_. leo watched as the man scooped up the girl in his arms and made his way to the counter to place an order.

"have we met somewhere before?"

after the words left his lips, leo had a second thought that perhaps he had been rude. it had come out so quickly and desperately. he supposed the worst case scenario would be an awkward moment, but he hadn't been able to hold himself back. surely he had seen the man _somewhere_ in the past.  
  
"it's funny," the man laughed, setting down the girl again. "i was thinking the same thing."

**Author's Note:**

> as always, you can find me on tumblr/twitter @sanyoucity


End file.
